Extensible roll tree for festooned sheet material

ABSTRACT

An extensible roll tree for use in apparatus in which continuous sheet material is continually cycled through an operational point from a storage area in which variable lengths of the sheet material are accumulated. The roll tree has two sets of rotatably mounted rolls about which the sheet material is entrained in a manner creating a plurality of stretches of the sheet material between the two sets of rolls. One of the sets of rolls is supported on a movable carriage which is reciprocally movable toward and away from the other set of rolls. A drive motor and a belt are connected to the movable carriage for moving it toward and away from the other set of rolls. This roll tree permits the plurality of stretches of the sheet material between the two sets of rolls to be increased or decreased as desired to accommodate greater or lesser lengths of sheet material in the accumulation area.

United States Ratent [191 Kitch EXTENSIBLE ROLL TREE FOR FESTOONED SHEETMATERIAL 3,729,258 Apr. 24, 1973 ABSTRACT An extensible roll tree foruse in apparatus in which continuous sheet material is continuallycycled through an operational point from a storage area in whichvariable lengths of the sheet material are accumulated. The roll treehas two sets of rotatably mounted rolls about which the sheet materialis entrained in a manner creating a plurality of stretches of the sheetmaterial between the two sets of rolls. One of the sets of rolls issupported on a movable carriage which is reciprocally movable toward andaway from the other set of rolls. A drive motor and a belt are connected,to the movable carriage for moving it toward and away from the otherset of rolls. This roll tree permits the plurality of stretches of thesheet material between the two sets of rolls to be increased ordecreased as desired to accommodate greater or lesser lengths of sheetmaterial in the accumulation area.

6 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures POWER souacE 82 Patented April 24, 1973 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

PAUL E. KITCH ATTORNEY.

Patented April 24, 1973 2Sheets-Sheet 2 EXTENSIBLE ROLL TREE FOR.FESTOONED SHEET MATERIAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field oftheInvention This invention relates to apparatus for handling continuoussheet material such as films, tapes and webs, and more particularly, toan extensible roll tree for festooned continuous sheet material whichhas application, for example, in film projection apparatus and in filmduplication apparatus.

2. Description of the Prior Art There are many different situationswhere endless loops of film, tape, or other sheet material of differentlengths is recycled through an operational station of one sort oranother from a storage area. For example, this is particularlytrue infilm duplication apparatus where one film having information on it is tobe duplicated many times to form additional films containing the sameinformation. In the past, this requirement has been met to a degree bymerely transferring the master film from one reel to another through theoperational station after which the reels were substituted and theprocess repeated. This obviously has been a rather slow processinvolving much waste of time and effort in changing reels and inrethreading the film.

In other instances, the master film has been formed into an endless loopas by joining its free end. This arrangement permitted the endless loopto be continuously recycled through the operational station such as theexposure station in which duplication occurred. One of the problemsassociated with this arrangement has been the difficulty of carefully.handling the residual portion of the loop being recycled so that damageto the imaged information on the film was avoided and yet so that thefilm would flow freely and reliably through the storage chamber withouttearing or breaking. Another difficulty experienced has been the problemof accommodating different lengths of accumulated portions of the filmloop within a given space since such films often vary considerably intotal length. This latter problem is most frequently experienced withmicrofilm storage records in which the length is totally governed by theallotted information to be recorded and stored.

In view of the above difficulties and shortcomings of the prior artapparatus for handling continuous sheet material of this nature, a newand improved form of apparatus was discovered which was capable ofaccommodating endless film loops differing vastly in their length. Thisapparatus is particularly reliable in smoothly recycling such an endlessfilm loop through an operational station in a manner which minimizesdegradation of the master film loop and the imaged information thereon.

Thus, the principal object and advantage of the present invention is tofacilitate the storage and recycling of an endless master film loopthrough an operational station.

A further object and advantage of the present invention is to facilitatethe application of a continuous film loop onto a roll tree.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is apparatus for handlingcontinuous sheet or strand material such as films, tapes, webs andthreads and includes an extensible roll tree for festooned continuoussheet or strand material. The roll tree includes first and second setsof rotatably mounted rolls upon which said sheet material is entrainedin a manner creating a plurality of stretches of the sheet materialbetween the first and second sets of rolls. A movable carriage meanssupports the first set of rolls and is reciprocally movable toward oraway from the second set of rolls. Actuating means are operablyconnected to the movable carriage means to move it alternatively towardor away from the second set of rolls. In this manner, the length of theplurality of stretches of the sheet material between the first andsecond sets of rolls is alternatively increased or decreased. Thisfacilitates the application of the film loop to the roll tree since theroll tree can be extended after application of the film loop in order totake up any slack.

The actuating means include a continuous drive belt secured to thecarriage means and an electric motor operably connected to the drivebelt in a reversible mode. The rolls in each of the first and secondsets have parallel rotational axes and are sufficiently spaced apartfrom one another to eliminate contact between the stretches of sheetmaterial between the first and second sets of rolls. The carriage meansinclude a movable upright support on which the first set of rolls isrotatably mounted and guide means are provided to direct the movement ofthe upright support toward and away from the second set of rolls. In oneembodiment, the guide means include an elongate stationary guide elementwhich extends along the path of desired movement of the upright support,and a movable slide element fixed to the upright support and slidablyattached to the guide element for cooperative movement along at least aportion of its length. In a particular embodiment, the extensible rolltree of the invention is employed in film projection or duplicationapparatus for handling an endless film loop.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS loop of microfilm through the apparatusshown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows a portionof one form of film duplicating apparatus in which the present inventionis utilized. The film duplicating apparatus includes a rotatably mountedsupport cylinder 10 on the surface of which an unimaged photosensitiveduplicating film 11 is supported. An original master film 12, that is, alight-stable, previously exposed film which already contains a developedvisible image, is superimposed upon the duplicating film 11. The films11 and 12 are supported in this manner and run in contact with oneanother and the surface of the support cylinder 10 through about 270 ofrotation of the support cylinder 10. The

duplicating film 11 is fed onto the support cylinder from a feed reel 13and after it passes around a guide roller 14, a guide roll 15, and aguide roller 16. Upon leaving the support cylinder 10, theduplicatingfilm 11 passes around a guide roller 17 and advances throughan opening 18 in the dividing wall 20 and into the developing chamber 21where it is developed in accordance with well-known techniques, thenature of which depends upon the type of film system employed.

The duplicating film 11 is of a nature such that it is photosensitive,so that when it is exposed to a lightshadow image, as by transmission oflight through the master film onto the duplicating film, a developableimage will be created on the duplicating film. The duplicating film 11,for example, may be of a conventional silver halide form or of aconventional diazo form, the nature of each being well-known to thoseskilled in photography and copying.

FIG. 1 shows the type of developing chamber commonly employed fordeveloping a diazotype film, in which the film is exposed to ammonia gasformed by volatilizing an aqueous ammonia solution by heating means (notshown) to develop the image thereon. To insure exposure of the film toammonia for a sufficient time while it is continuously fed into thechamber 21, a substantial length of the film is accumulated within thechamber 21 by running it between a plurality of rollers 22 to createmany stretches of the film which permit exposure of the film surface tothe atmosphere in chamber 21. The developed film is fed through a secondopening 23 in dividing wall 20 and is passed over guide roll 24, guideroll 25, and guide roll 26, after which it is wound upon a reel 27.

The master film 12 is fed from the extensible roll tree of theinvention, described subsequently with reference to FIG. 2, around asnubbing roller 28, and then around a guide roller 30, after which it isfed around the periphery of the support cylinder 10 on top of theduplicating film 11. Upon leaving the support cylinder 10 and theduplicating film 11, the master film 12 is fed around a guide roller31and then around a snubbing roller 32, around guide rollers 33, 34 and35, after which it is fed back to the extensible roll tree of theinvention. The entire film system is driven by a drive motor (not shown)operably connected by a belt (not shown) to pulleys (not shown) oncertain of the guide rollers and reels as are necessary to advance theduplicating film 11 and the master film 12 through the apparatus.Therefore, it is frictional force between the films 11 and 12 and theouter periphery of the driven rollers which advances the duplicatingfilm 11 and the master film 12 around the support cylinder 10 andthrough the duplicating apparatus. These details have been omitted toavoid obscuring the invention, but the details of such a drivearrangement would be readily apparent to one skilled in the art.

The side wall 36 of the duplicating apparatus has an I opening 37therein radially disposed from the support cylinder 10. A light chamber38 is formed by spacedapart upper and lower inclined walls 40 and41,.respectively, radially extending from the side wall 36 at the topand bottom of the opening 37 to a point closely spaced from the surfaceof the support cylinder 10 and side walls 42, only one of which isshown, which connect the respective ends of upper and lower walls 40 and41 to generally define an exposure station, indicated generally by thebracket 43. Thus, exposure of the duplicating film 11 to light projectedthrough the master film 12 only occurs when the films 11 and 12 passover the support cylinder 10 between the lower side wall 41 and theupper side wall 40.

A lamp 44 is spaced from the side wall 36 in line with the opening 37therein. The lamp 44 is partially enclosed by an arcuate reflectingelement 45 and outwardly diverging upper and lower reflecting elements46 and 47, respectively, spaced apart from one another. All of thereflecting elements 45, 46 and 47 combine to project light from the lamp44 through the opening 37 into the light chamber 38 and through themaster film 12 onto the duplicating film 11 as they move through theexposure station 43. The lamp 44 may comprise any of the high intensityelectric light sources typically employed in projection apparatus andfilm duplicating equipment.

A shutter 50 is disposed adjacent the side wall 36 and the opening 37therein, and is movable from an open position where it is adjacent theside wall 36 as shown in FIG. 1 in solid line, to a closed positionwhere it is in front of the opening 37 and is in front of the spacebetween the reflecting elements 46 and 47, as shown in phantom line inFIG. 1. In the open position, light from the lamp 44 can strike thefilms 11 and 12 at the exposure station 43, but in the closed position,light which enters the light chamber 38 is essentially precluded fromstriking the films l1 and 12 at the exposure station 43. Movement of theshutter 50 is accomplished by a rack and pinion mechanism, the shutter50 being attached to the lower end of the rack 51 which is meshed withand driven by a pinion gear 52 which is attached to the drive shaft of ashutter drive motor 53. The shutter drive motor 53 is a reversible ACmotor and the direction of its operation may be controlled by a simpleswitch (not shown) or by more automatic means (not shown), thearrangement and operation of which would be understood by those skilledin the art.

A pressure roller 54 is disposed within the light chamber 38 andarranged to contact the surface of the master film 12 to press itagainst the duplicating film l 1 just prior to the point where the films11 and 12 are struck by light. This pressure substantially eliminatesany air gaps between the two films l1 and 12 and ensures uniform contacttherebetween which is essential to avoid undercutting of the imageduring exposure. In the duplication of images, and particularlymicroimages on microfilm, close contact during exposure to light isextremely important to avoid the loss of resolution which otherwiseoccurs due to non-radial or diverging light rays passing through theimaged film. Such diverging light rays tends to undercut the image onthe master film 12 if the master film 12 and the duplicating film 11 arenot in close contact with one another. This results in a dim or lightimage with reduced resolution.

The pressure roller 54 is rotatably mounted on one end of a pivotablymounted support arm 55 which pivots about a pin 56 connected to the sideplate 42. The other end of the support arm 55 is connected by a tensionspring 57 to the back side of the lower reflectingelement 47. From thisarrangement, it can be seen that the pressure roller 54 is spring-biasedinto contact with the master film 12 when the shutter 50 is open. Inaccordance with the invention, the pressure roller 54 is moved away fromand out of contact with the master film 12 when the shutter 50 is movedto its closed position. This is accomplished by the lower end of theshutter 50 striking the support arm 55 holding the pressure roller 54and overcoming the force of the spring 57 by the force of the shutterdrive motor 53 operating through the rack 51 and pinion gear 52 so thatthe pressure roller 54 is pivoted out of contact with the master film12. This position of the support arm 55 and pressure roller 54 is shownin phantom in FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, one form of an extensible rolltree of the invention is shown which is embodied in a unit to bedisposed directly beneath the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and describedabove. The unit is designed to accommodate endless film loops of varyinglengths such as loops of microfilm of which copies or duplicates are tobe made. The extensible roll tree is designed to maintain theaccumulated length of the master film loop 12 in condition forcontinuous recycling through the duplication portion of the apparatusshown in FIG. 1, and to receive the master film 12 after it has beenduplicated.

The extensible roll tree has a base 60 and an upstanding stationarysupport member 61 near one end thereof containing a plurality ofrotatably mounted rolls 62 depending outwardly therefrom and arrangedalong a line in spaced-apart relation to one another. Another upstandingsupport member 63 is spaced from the stationary support member 61 andalso carries a plurality of spaced-apart, rotatably mounted rolls64depending outwardly therefrom and having their rotational axes generallyparallel with the rotational axes of the rolls 62 on the support member.Master film 12, received from the duplicating portion of the apparatusshown in FIG. 1, is fed downwardly along one end of the apparatus shownin FIG. 2 and about a guide roller 65 and hence alternately tosuccessive rolls 62 and 64 on the upstanding support members 61 and 63,respectively, so as to form a plurality of stretches of the master film12 extending between the support members 61 and 63. The master film 12is then fed about guide rolls 58 and 59 and back into the duplicationunit. In this manner, a considerable length of the master film 12 can beaccumulated and stored while another portion thereof is continuously fedthrough the duplication portion of the apparatus.

The support member 63 is reciprocally movable toward and away from thesupport member 61 containing the set of rolls 62 so that it serves as amovable carriage for the set of rolls 64. Guide means are provided forcontrolling the path of movement of the support member 63 and the rolls64 carried thereon. The guide means in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2comprise an elongate stationary guide member or bar 66 extending fromone end of the apparatus to the other, the respective ends of the bar 66being carried in sockets in the spaced end plates 67 and 68. A movableslide member 70 is fixed to the movable upright support member andpartially encircles the guide member 66 so that it is slidably attachedthereto for cooperative movement along its length. It will be apparentthat when the upright support member 63 is moved away from thestationary support member 61, the lengths of sheet material such as themaster film 12 between the respective rolls 62 and 64 on the supportmembers 61 and 63 become greater, thereby permitting a longer film loopto be accumulated and fed through the duplicating portion of theapparatus. 0n the other hand, where a shorter length of film is to beduplicated, the support member 63 may be moved toward the support member61 and, in certain instances, fewer of the rolls 62 and 64 on each ofthe respective support members may be employed to accumulate the shorterfilm loop. Move ment of the rolls 62 and 64 together also facilitatesthe insertion of the film loop onto the roll tree of the invention,since the slack can then be taken up after only a short length has beenthreaded over the rolls 62 and 64 by moving the rolls 62 and 64 apartagain.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, actuating means are shown for movingthe movable carriage or upstanding support member 63 toward and awayfrom the sta tionary support member 61. These actuating means include ahendless drive belt 71 which is fixedly secured to the slide member 70.The drive belt 71 passes around idler pulleys 72 and 73 rotatablymounted on the back wall 74 of the apparatus at each end thereof. Thebelt 71 also passes around a drive roller 75 through which it is drivenand a snub or tension roller 76. The drive roller 75 is fixed to a drivepulley 77 which is driven by a drive belt 78 by means of a pulley 80fixed to a drive motor 81. The drive motor 81 is a reversible AC type ofmotor which is electrically connected to a source of electrical power 82through a variable transformer 83. In operation, the drive motor 81operating through the drive pulley 77, drive belt 78, and drive pulley80, turns the drive roll 75 and moves the belt 71 in one direction orthe other, as desired and as controlled by switching means (not shown)of a type wellknown to those skilled in the art, so that the uprightsupport member 63 is pulled along its path toward or away from theupright support member 61. Movement toward member 61 permits an endlessloop of microfilm, which is to be duplicated, to be easily inserted intothe extensible roll tree. Movement of member 63 away from member 61eliminates any slack in the endless loop, and the stretches of filmmaterial between the respective support members 61 and 63 are tautened,spaced apart and made generally parallel to eliminate moving contactbetween stretches of the film which might'result in damage to the imagethereon or to the optical clarity of the film.

In view of the above description of the invention and of the drawings,it will be apparent that a new and improved extensible roll tree isprovided for festooned continuous sheet material such as an endless filmto be duplicated. It is also apparent that the extensible roll tree ofthe invention enables endless film loops to be accumulated and recycledthrough apparatus such as film duplication equipment and to accommodatefilm loops of differing lengths. Furthermore, it can be seen that theroll tree of the invention greatly facilitates the repetitiveduplication on microfilm strips where numerous copies are to be made,while overcoming many of the problems previously experienced withapparatus of this general type.

From the above description of the invention, it will be apparent thatvarious modifications may be made in the specific embodiments disclosedin detail herein,

without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention. Forexample, the precise manner in which the lengths of film are arrangedwithin the apparatus is not in any way critical to the invention.Furthermore, many different forms of actuating means for moving one ofthe setof rolls relative to the other may be employed with equalsuccess. It should be clearly understood that the terms sheet material,films, tapes, webs, strands or threads are used interchangeably exceptwhere a particular function is ascribed to one type, and the scope ofthe invention is not to be restricted by such terms as any of suchmaterials can be advantageously handled by the roll tree of the presentinvention. Therefore, the invention is not intended to be limited in anyway to the specific forms or applications described herein except as maybe required by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus for duplicating film, wherein an original master filmcontaining imaged indicia and a duplicate film are brought intooverlying relationship with one another and light is projected throughsaid according to claim 1, wherein said carriage means comprise amoveable upright support on which said first set of rolls is rotatablymounted, and said roll tree includes guide means for directing themovement of said upright support toward and away from said second set ofrolls.

. The improvement in apparatus for duplicating film duplicate film arebrought into overlying relationship master film and onto said duplicatefilm at an exposure station, and said apparatus includes film drivemeans for advancing said films through said exposure station, a lightsource for directing light toward said films at said exposure station,means for feeding said duplicate film into the apparatus for exposureand means for receiving the duplicate film after exposure and fordeveloping said image,

the improvement comprising an extensible roll tree for a festoonedendless master film loop adapted for continually feeding said masterfilm to said exposure station and receiving said master film from saidexposure station, whereby a series of copies of said master film loop isautomatically made on said duplicate film, said extensible roll treecomprising:

first and second sets of rotatably mounted rolls about which said masterfilm loop is entrained in a manner creating a plurality of stretches ofsaid master film between said first and second sets of rolls;

movable carriage means for supporting said first set of rolls, saidmovable carriage means being reciprocally movable toward and away fromsaid second set of rolls; and

actuating means comprising a continuous drive belt operatively connectedto said movable carriage means and an electric motor operativelyconnected to said drive belt in a reversible mode for moving saidmovable carriage means alternatively toward and away from said secondset of rolls, whereby the length of said plurality of stretches of saidmaster film between said first and second set of rolls is alternativelyincreased or decreased.

2. The improvement in apparatus for duplicating film according to claim1, wherein the rolls in each of said first and second sets have parallelaxes of rotation and are sufficiently spaced apart from one another toeliminate contact between said stretches of said master film betweensaid first and second set of rolls.

3. The improvement in apparatus for duplicating film with one anotherand light is projected through said master film and onto said duplicatefilm at an exposure station, and said apparatus includes film drivemeans for advancing said films through said exposure station, a lightsource for directing light toward said film at said exposure station,means for feeding said duplicate film into the apparatus for exposureand means for receiving the duplicate film after exposure and fordeveloping said image,

the improvement comprising an extensible roll tree for festooned endlessmaster film loop adapted for continually feeding said master film tosaid exposure station and receiving said master film from said exposurestation, whereby a series of copies of said master film loop isautomatically made on said duplicate film, said extensible roll treecomprising:

first and second sets of rotatably mounted rolls about which said masterfilm loop is entrained in a manner creating a plurality of stretches ofsaid master film between said first and second sets of rolls;

movable carriage means for supporting said first set of rolls, saidmovable carriage means being reciprocally movable toward and away fromsaid second set of rolls, said carriage means comprising a movableupright support on which said first set of rolls is rotatably mounted;

guide means for directing the movement of said upright support towardand away from said second set of rolls; and

actuating means operatively connected to said movable carriage means formoving it alternatively toward and away from said second set of rolls,whereby the length of said plurality of stretches of said master filmbetween said first and second set of rolls is alternatively increased ordecreased.

6. The improvement in apparatus for duplicating film according to claim2, wherein said guide means include an elongate stationary guide elementwhich extends along the path of desired movement of said uprightsupport, and a movable slide element fixed to said upright support andslideably attached to said guide element for cooperative movement alongat least a portion of its length.

1. In apparatus for duplicating film, wherein an original master filmcontaining imaged indicia and a duplicate film are brought intooverlying relationship with one another and light is projected throughsaid master film and onto said duplicate film at an exposure station,and said apparatus includes film drive means for advancing said filmsthrough said exposure station, a light source for directing light towardsaid films at said exposure station, means for feeding said duplicatefilm into the apparatus for exposure and means for receiving theduplicate film after exposure and for developing said image, theimprovement comprising an extensible roll tree for a festooned endlessmaster film loop adapted for continually feeding said master film tosaid exposure station and receiving said master film from said exposurestation, whereby a series of copies of said master film loop isautomatically made on said duplicate film, said extensible roll treecomprising: first and second sets of rotatably mounted rolls about whichsaid master film loop is entrained in a manner creating a plurality ofstretches of said master film between said first and second sets ofrolls; movable carriage means for supporting said first set of rolls,said movable carriage means being reciprocally movable toward and awayfrom said second set of rolls; and actuating means comprising acontinuous drive belt operatively connected to said movable carriagemeans and an electric motor operatively connected to said drive belt ina reversible mode for moving said movable carriage means alternativelytoward and away from said Second set of rolls, whereby the length ofsaid plurality of stretches of said master film between said first andsecond set of rolls is alternatively increased or decreased.
 2. Theimprovement in apparatus for duplicating film according to claim 1,wherein the rolls in each of said first and second sets have parallelaxes of rotation and are sufficiently spaced apart from one another toeliminate contact between said stretches of said master film betweensaid first and second set of rolls.
 3. The improvement in apparatus forduplicating film according to claim 1, wherein said carriage meanscomprise a moveable upright support on which said first set of rolls isrotatably mounted, and said roll tree includes guide means for directingthe movement of said upright support toward and away from said secondset of rolls.
 4. The improvement in apparatus for duplicating filmaccording to claim 3, wherein said guide means include an elongatestationary guide element which extends along the path of desiredmovement of said upright support, and a moveable slide element fixed tosaid upright support and slidably attached to said guide element forcooperative movement along at least a portion of its length.
 5. Inapparatus for duplicating film, wherein an original master filmcontaining imaged indicia and a duplicate film are brought intooverlying relationship with one another and light is projected throughsaid master film and onto said duplicate film at an exposure station,and said apparatus includes film drive means for advancing said filmsthrough said exposure station, a light source for directing light towardsaid film at said exposure station, means for feeding said duplicatefilm into the apparatus for exposure and means for receiving theduplicate film after exposure and for developing said image, theimprovement comprising an extensible roll tree for festooned endlessmaster film loop adapted for continually feeding said master film tosaid exposure station and receiving said master film from said exposurestation, whereby a series of copies of said master film loop isautomatically made on said duplicate film, said extensible roll treecomprising: first and second sets of rotatably mounted rolls about whichsaid master film loop is entrained in a manner creating a plurality ofstretches of said master film between said first and second sets ofrolls; movable carriage means for supporting said first set of rolls,said movable carriage means being reciprocally movable toward and awayfrom said second set of rolls, said carriage means comprising a movableupright support on which said first set of rolls is rotatably mounted;guide means for directing the movement of said upright support towardand away from said second set of rolls; and actuating means operativelyconnected to said movable carriage means for moving it alternativelytoward and away from said second set of rolls, whereby the length ofsaid plurality of stretches of said master film between said first andsecond set of rolls is alternatively increased or decreased.
 6. Theimprovement in apparatus for duplicating film according to claim 2,wherein said guide means include an elongate stationary guide elementwhich extends along the path of desired movement of said uprightsupport, and a movable slide element fixed to said upright support andslideably attached to said guide element for cooperative movement alongat least a portion of its length.